Elevator-hatchway seal



F. FEHR.

ELEVATOR HATCHWAY SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23. 1920. I 1 406,951 Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

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HATCHWA FILED OCT.

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I ELEVATOR HATCHWAY SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23, I920.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

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ELEVATOR-HATCHWAY SEAL. I

To all/whom it may] concern Be it known that I, FRANK FEHR, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jeffersonand State of Kentucky, have invented certainenewand useful Improvementsin Elevator Hatchway Seals, of whichv the following is a specification.v

T he invention relates to elevator installations in buildingconstruction. i

it is frequently necessary in housing certain classes of business thatthe building be constructed so that rooms on-dilierent floors, or wholefloors, may be sealed from the remainder 01 the building and from theoutside atmosphere. At the same time it is necessary to providecommunication with elevator service for the movement of goods or thepassage of persons. It may be desirable to segregate portions oi a building so that noxious odors, dust or other undesirable by-productsincident to industrial processes can be confined therein. The evenmaintenance of highten'iperatures in drying rooms wherein materials arebeing constantlv movedv to and from an elevator is frequently required.

In cold-storage warehouses the'maintenance of uniform temperaturesis'partic'ularlv essential to the preservation oi perishable goods, andto that end the rooms and floors are provided with communicating doorswhich effect an air seal when closed.

in using an elevator'ioimthe movement of goods in and out of a coldstorage warehouse and between floors; it is of course necessary to openthe hatchway doors. In the usual construction of elevator installations,the shaft acts as a line to create a circulation air through the dooropenings when in use. The, resultant disturbance of temperatures inrefrigerated rooms not otherwise protected is obviously consid erableand objectionable. lnorder to avoid the escape of cold from therefrigerated rooms through the doors when opened to allow passage intoor out 0t an elevator it'has been customary to construct cold-storagebuildings with closed Specification of Letters Patent. Patented F b. 14Application filed Qccober 23, 1929. Serial No. 419,067;

vestibules at the 'doorsleadinginto the elevator hatchways, thevestibule door being closed before the hatchway door is-opened so.-

as to minimize the escapeof cold air. These vestibules however. take upconsiderable space; which but for their presence could be used forstorage. p I y lit-1s one of the general aims of my inventlon to producean improved construction eliminates the necessity for vestibules and atthe Same time effectively prevents the flow of currents of air betweenan elevator. hatch-v the edges of the car opening and the shaft wallsabout the hatchway door so that air cannot flow through such spaces whenthe.

elevator is, in register. with aihatchway door.

Another ob ect of my invention is topro- 'vide "means which is automaticin its operation and does not require the; attention of theoperator toeffect a seal when the car is positioned before the door opening. 7

A;' further object is to provide sealing means of great durability, andof simple construction which may be cheaply manufactured and installedon standard types of elevators.

The objects of the invention thus generally stated, together with otherobiects and advantages which will be apparent as the descriptionproceeds, are attained by the cons ruction and arrangement hereinafterdesc rhed and illustrated in the accompany ing drawings. forming parthereof.

Fig. l of? the drawingsis a fragmentary sectionalelevation of a buildingconstructed with an elevator hatchwa-y within a walled shaft andequipped with anelevator car and operating meanstherefor. The car andshaft are shown in section as taken on the ,for cold-storage and otherbuildings which Fig.2.

' cated by the! line 2-2 in Fig.

Fig. 3 illustrates in vertical cross section the means employed .to sealthe spaces between the top and bottom of the car and the shaft walladjacent tothe door opening.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of my device adapted to seal thelateral spaces between the carand wall, and also shows a fragmentaryplan View of theconstruction illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 illustrates in cross section a modi- 1 fied construction of themeans employed to seal the lateral spaces.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side view of the device constructed asillustrated in Fig. 5, and showingbroken sections representing the top,bottom and an intermediate portion of the car.

In the embodiment of my invention selected for illustration, referringnow to F igsk 1 and 2, the numeral 5 indicates the foundation of abuilding from which .rise the" walls 6 and 7 forming respectively thefront and rear walls of an elevator shaft enclosing one or morehatchways." The several floors of the building are indicated at 8.Opening from each floor into the elevator shaft are doors 9 formed inthe wall 6. An elevator car 10.0perates within the shaft, and travelsupon the guide rails 11 suitably securedat the sides of its 'hatchw'ay,and with which the car is engaged by means of some one ofthe well knownsafety devices adapted to that purpose. A cable 12, attached to the topof the car, passes over a sheave 13 and is wound upon revolving drum 14.Driving mechanism, including power means controlled by the elevatoroperator, is indicated generally at 15, and serves to actuate the drum14 and the cable 12 by which the car '10 is raised and lowered in theshaft.

' A counterweight 16 (Fig. 2) is arranged 1n a well known manner tocounterbalance the weight offthe car 10.

The car is constructed with its side and rear walls, and also its topand floor, closed to the circulation of air, the front of the car whichfaces the hatchway doors 9 being open.

It will be seen that between the front of the car 10 and the wall 6there must be operating clearance to permit the passage of the car inthe .hatchway. The clearance allowedin practice is sullicient to permita largeyvolume of air to pass between the ad'- j'oining rooms of thebuilding and the shaft when the car ispositioned before one the openingsand the doors opened to handle freight from the elevator; a conditionhere- 'tofore, requiring the construction of spaceconsuming vestibuleswith double sets of doors.

To prevent that action I have mounted flexible strips about the foursides of the front face of the car 10 which extend forwardly to engageoutstanding elements fixed to the wall 6 surrounding the door openings,and which cooperatively form an air seal about the front face of the carwhen it is positioned before one of the openings.

My preferred 7 construction to accomplish this seal comprises rails 17(Figs. 1 and 4), preferably being standard guide rails, fixedin'vertical position upon the wall 6, one on each side of and adjacentto the openings 9,

a and extending continuously the entire length of the hatchway.Immediately above and below each ofthe door openings is mounted a crossmember 18 extending between the side rails 17 and projecting into thehatchway. The surface of the cross member is inclined toward the wall atits upper and lower edges.

Angular supporting brackets 19 (Figs. 1 and 2) are suitably secured oneach side of the car 10 near and parallel to the edges of its front faceand extending a substantial distance above and below the car frame. Thesealing devices mounted thereon on each side of the. car being identicalin construction, only one will be described as illustrated in Fig. 4.Carried at intervals on the front face of the bracket 19 are fillerblocks 20 to which are. attached an angle plate 21 extending along thelength of the bracket 19, and mountedwith its angle projectingforwardly. 'Secured oppositely on the angular faces of the plate 21 is apair of flexible strips 22 running longitudinally of, the plate, andwith their front edges extending substantially forward ofthe front faceof the car to engage between them the outstanding tongue of the rail 17.The strips 22 are maintained in yi lding contact with the rail by meansofa spring member 23 overlying each of the strips 22 throughout theirlength and .detachablysecured along the rearward edges of the strips tothe plate 21, as by means of cap screws 24 passing through the strips.The spring members also serve as clamps to hold the flexible strips inplace.

The .strips 22 being of considerably greater width than. the faces oftheir support and being mounted 1n spaced angular relation I havefound'that standard leather belting gives satisfactory results in use assuch strips.

It will thus be seen that the lateral spaces between the car 10 and thewall 6areclosed against air, circulation therethrough, and thattheconstruction'just described permits of'the movement of the elevatorthrough its hatchway with the flexible strips constantly andautomatically performing their function in their sl ding engagement withthe cooperating rails.

Across the top and the bottom of the car The resilient construction ofthe strips permits them to yield, slidably pass over the convex platesin either direction, and return to normal posit-ion. hen the car isstopped before one of the doors the strips remain in contact with theplate mounted oppositely. The strips 22 are formed to extendsubstantially in complete closure between the upper and lowerprojections of the lateral strips 22.

For the adjustment of the relative position of the flexible strips aboveand below the car to compensate for Wear, base plates 25 (F are fixedupon the top and the bottom of the car, and carry the supportingbrackets 19 Transverse slots 26 areformed in each of the brackets 19"through which securing; bolts 27 are engaged with the plate 25. .As theflexible strips wear, the support may be moved forward to efiect propercon tact between the strips22 and, the cooperating convex plates 18.

In the modified construct-ion of the side scalin g device illustrated inFigs. 5' and 6, an angular supporting bracket 19 '1s earned on each sideof the car 10: adjacent. to its front face. An angle plate 21*,coextensive in length with the support 19*, is secured thereto along oneof its faces, by means of bolts 27" carried by the support and passingthrough elongated slots 26 in the angle plate 21" to permit lateraladjustment of the latter relative to the car. On the opposite web of theangle plate 91*, which extends forwardly and parallel to the side of thecar, is securcda pair of flexible strips 2? running longitudinally ofthe plate. The strips are mounted in spaced parallel relation, theirreari-vard edges being separated. by spacer block 20" and attached tothe plate 21 by means of bolts 24 The forward edges of the strips extendfrontward to embrace the tongue of the rail 17 secured to the wall ofthe shaft; Contact between the strips and the rails is vicldinglymaintained by a plurality of clamping elements 23 carried by theflexible strips and spaced along their for ard edge. Mounted oppositelyon the cr faces of the strips, the clamping elements are positioned withtheir inner edges overlying the center portions-of the strips:

whereat spacer pieces 28 are secured between the strips; and with theirouteredges overlying the forward edges of the strips which embrace therail. A bolt 23 passes through the clamping elements and strips and hasits head bearing upon one of the clamping elements. A coiled spring 23is mounted on the extended end of the bolt and tensioned between the nut23 and the other of the clamping elements, thus tending to yieldinglydraw the latter together and thereby maintain contact between the stripsand the rail in their sliding engagement.

it will now be apparent that when the car 10 is positioned on a levelwith either of the building floors in register with one of the dooropenings 9, a complete seal is eiiectcd, closing the spaces surroundingthe front face of the car. In that position the flexible strips aboveand below the carare in contact with the oppositely positioned convexmem- I bers fixed about the door, and, with the constantly engagedlateralstrips, accomplish the prevention of any air circulation betweenthe hatchway and the open doors. It will also be apparent that by theuse of my invention the objectionable vestibules now commonly in usemaybe discarded. It will be further obvious that the action of the sealingdevices is wholly automatic and'needs no attendance by an operator. Theprincipal elements are of standard fabricated materials providingcheapness of construction, and their design assures durability inservice. It is further apparent thatmy invention may be adapted to sealfloor hatches in elevator construction. 1

While I have illustrated and described in detail a preferred embodiment.of iny inven tion it should be clearly understood that the disclosure ismerely for purposes of illustration andthat many modifications'andvariations will naturally occur to those skilled in the art. I aim inthe subjoined claims to cover all such legitimate variations andmodifications.

I claim as my invention:

1, In a building having a plurality of floors, the combination of anelevator car operating in a hatchw'ay'having openings at said floors,and cooperative means associated with said car and said openings toprevent the circulation of air between either of said openingsselectively and said hatchway, said means effecting a continuous closurebetween the sides of said car and said hatchway and an interruptedclosure between the top and bottom of said car and'said hatchway.

2. In a building having a plurality of floors, the combination of anelevator hatchway having awall with openings framed therein at saidfloors, an elevator car operable in said'hatchway, means forcontinuously sealing the spaces between the sides of said car and saidwall, and intermittently operative means for sealing the spaces betweenthe upper and lower portions of the car and the wall immediately aboveand below said openings, to prevent the circulation of air between theopening and said hatchway.

3. In an elevator installation the combination of a hatchway havingspaced door openings therein, a car operating in the hatchway, and meansfor selectively sealing said door openings from communication with saidhatchway when said car is registered therewith, said means includingcontinuous vertical members mounted in said hatchway laterally of saiddoor openings, elements carried on the sides of said car havingcontinuous overlapping sliding engagement with said members, and sealingdevices severally mounted above and below said car and door openingsadapted when registered to effect a closure between said verticalmembers.

4. In an elevator installation having a hatchway, the combination of anelevator car operating in said hatchway, a series of door openingsframed in one of the walls defining said hatchway, a pair of outstandingcontinuous rails fixed tosaid wall and positioned one at each side ofsaid series of openings in parallel relation to the direction ofmovement of said car, pairs of cross plates having outstanding surfacesand ex tending between said rails, one plate fixed above and one beloweach of said openings, a d means carried by said car to engage with saidrails and cross plates and substantially seal said hatchway againstatmospheric communication with either of said openings selectively.

In an elevator installation having a hatchway, the combination of a walldefining a side of said hatchway and having a series of verticallyarranged spaced door o 'ienings framed therein, an elevator caroperating in said hatchway and having its face successively in registerwith said openings, forwardly extending flexible strips mounted aboutand surrounding the face of said car, and means secured to said wallabout said door openings to engage selectlvely said flexibleSiLI'lPSWllGIl the, face of said car is in register with one of saidopenings and thereby prevent the circulation of air between the openingand the hatchway.

6. The combination with an elevator car operable to selectively registerwith a plurality of hatchway doors, of pairs of resilient strips mountedon the car, one pair across the top and another pair across the bottomof the door of the car and extending forwardly therefrom,'the strips ofeach pair be ing angularly disposed relative to each other and stressedso that their forwardly extendpositioned in register with a hatchwaydoor,

and means for sealing the spaces between the car and hatchway wall atthe sides of said doors.

7 The combination with an elevator car operable to successively registerwith a plurality of hatchway doors, of a pair of pliable strips securedto each side of said car adjacent to its face and extending forwardlytherefrom, said strips of each pair being disposed in spaced relation toeach other and stressed so that their forwardly extended edges tend tomeet, and vertically extending elements fixed in relation to saidhatchway doors one on each side thereof and located forwardly of saidpairs of strips, each of said elements having an outstanding tongueinterposed between and in sliding contact with the forward portions ofthe adjacent pair. of said strips.

8. In a device of the class described, the

combination of an elevator car operating in a hatchway having a dooropening, a support mounted on said car parallel to the vertical sides ofits front face, a pair of spaced pliable elements attached to saidsupport and extending forwardly of said car, a rail fixed in saidhatchway at one' side of said opening and having an outstanding tongue,said tongue being interposed in sliding engagement between saidelements, and a plurality of spring stressed clamping members associatedwith said elements tending to force together the forward portionsthereof and yieldingly maintain them in contact'with said rail.

9. In a device of the class'described, the combination of an elevatorcar operating in a hatchway having a door opening, a support adjustablymounted on said car parallel to the horizontal sides of its front face,a pair of spaced pliable elements attached to'said support and extendingforwardly of said car, a pair of spring members associated with saidelements tending to force together the forward portions of said elementsand yieldingly maintain them in normally extended position, and ahoriontallypositioned plate fixed in said hatchway adjacent to saidopening, said plate being shaped with an outstanding portion having acurved vertical cross section and adapted to be slidably engaged by saidpliable elements.

10. In an'elevator installation having a hatchway, the combination of anelevator car operating in said hatchway, a series of door openingsframed in one of the Walls the spaces between the sides ofsaid car anddefining said hatchway, a pair of outstandsaid Wall, and means forsealing the spaces i'ng continuous rails fixed to said wall and betweensaid car and said wall at the top 10 positioned one at each side of saidseries and bottom of said doors. of openings and parallel with thedirection In testimony whereof, I have hereunto of movement of said car,means carried by set my hand. 7 4

said car and engaging with said rails to seal FRANK FEHR.

